BYOD done right isn't easy

BYOD, otherwise known as Bring Your Own Device, is a policy that provides a wealth of benefits to organizations when done right. It involves allowing employees to use their personal devices (phones, tablets, etc.) for daily business use. Remember what people say, too much of anything is bad for you. The question is how much is “too much” and what steps can you take to make sure your BYOD deployment is more of a blessing rather than a curse?

If you just “give the people what they want” and deploy this solution with no plan or controls you can invite disaster and even open your organization up to legal troubles. A great example of this involves healthcare and accidentally revealing PHI, otherwise known as personal health information. What happens when Bob’s or Mary’s iPhone gets stolen, and they just happened to download a spreadsheet full of that information earlier? Fines come with that type of breach. How about product roadmaps? Do you really want your competitors to know your plans for the next 12 months or worse see them posted on a tech blog? The damage is very costly and the system you do deploy needs to have a way to protect your priceless information.

Key terms come to mind like “remote wipe” capability. This allows your IT team to eliminate that confidential information before it gets into the wrong hands when a personal device goes missing. Did you know that there are different levels of remote wipe? Not everyone likes the idea of you “factory resetting” their phone or tablet since it is after all their personal device. There are some solutions that can target and wipe only the confidential information.

Regardless of the solution you choose it is always best to consult a professional with years of experience in deploying this solution the right way, and that is where we come in. Feel free to contact us and we’ll be happy to partner with you in deploying a robust and carefully thought out BYOD strategy.